Drummond shook his head and began to…it looked like he was pulling himself forward with one hand. A hand that gripped nothing Rule could see. He got close to Rule then stopped, his expression obviously frustrated. He waved at Rule with his other hand.
“Wait a minute. I think he needs to be closer to the map.”
Drummond waved at Rule again. This time Rule got it. He wanted Rule to move closer to the map. He did. And Drummond followed…slowly. As if each step was killing him. When he stopped he was hunched, one hand clutching his middle, the other one gripping nothing Rule could see.
“Okay,” Rule said. “Go.”
“I begin on the block where our hotel is,” Madame Yu announced.
Rule was watching Drummond, not Grandmother, so he didn’t see where her finger went on the map. Drummond shook his head quickly. “Colder,” Rule said. A pause, longer this time. Drummond nodded slightly. “Warmer, but not hot.” Several more heartbeats…“Colder. Cold…okay, you’re back on track. He’s nodding. He’s…there. Stop.” Drummond’s mouth had moved, but now he shook his head again. “Back up. You were on it, but…that’s it!” Drummond was nodding and talking up a blue streak.
“My finger,” Madame Yu said, “in on Crescent Street. On the block where that warehouse is.”
Drummond nodded frantically.
“The warehouse?” Rule said quickly. “That’s where she is?”
Drummond nodded again, and mouthed one word, exaggerating the movement. Then he came apart—not just fading to mist the way Lily said he did all the time, but shredding.
“He’s gone,” Rule said flatly. “The warehouse…” It was west of the hotel. Lily had told Rule she was east of the hotel. How could Rule take the word of someone like Drummond over what Lily herself had told him?
“Tell me you aren’t seriously considering going there based on—on whatever the hell you think you saw,” Bergman said.
Rule looked at her. She was competent, Lily said. Good at her job. She was probably right. But he couldn’t get out of his mind how Drummond had looked. How much pain he’d been in. He’d fought some kind of battle to get here, to pass on what he could. And the last word he’d spoken, the one he’d exaggerated, hoping Rule would understand…it had looked like hurry.
“Lady,” he whispered. What do I do?
The Lady had never spoken to him. She didn’t speak now. But he felt himself settle into a familiar state. Into certa, the battle state, where thought, decision, and action flowed smoothly and icy clear.
He could go to Whole Foods with Bergman, but that was a cop thing to do, wasn’t it? Not a Rho thing. Not a lupi thing. “We’re going to 44191 West Crescent,” he said crisply. “Scott, we need our cars. Special Agent, a police escort would—”
“Forget it. You’re nuts, and I’m not going to cater to insanity.”
Rule stopped listening as a new thought flowed in. “Never mind. Scott, you’ll take the bulk of the men and meet me there. Mike, Todd—you’re with me.”
“As am I, of course,” Madame Yu said.
“Your aid is always welcome.”
“You are nuts,” Bergman said flatly.
Her comment was quickly followed by protests from the other agents. Even Beth looked worried, and his own people were variously alarmed or stony…but then, they were Leidolf. None of them had fought beside Madame. But their reaction made him see her for a moment as they must.
She was so small. Small and thin and wrinkled. Madame Yu was an old woman, however large the spirit might be in that erect body…which was, of course, far older than the others dreamed. Rule smiled slowly as an idea arrived. He had to assume that Friar would know who Li Lei Yu was, but he had no idea what she was. “Madame, I have a part in mind for you to play. It is very dangerous.”
She sniffed her disdain of that caveat.
“Will their illusions affect you?”
“I think not, but we shall see.”
“Very well. I’ll explain en route.” Scott, however dubious he might be about Rule’s choice of fighting partners, was dutifully calling for the cars to be brought around. Rule started to turn to the special agent.
“I’ll go with you, too.” That was Jasper. “Unless you’re going to run straight at guns again, which I wouldn’t be good at because I’d be dead too quickly to be much help. But stealth is usually better in a hostage situation, and I’m good at that.”
Rule met his brother’s eyes. He saw need there, and determination. What could a human do against such as they faced? He didn’t know, and yet…“Are you willing and able to follow my orders?”
Jasper nodded.
And yet perhaps Jasper had the right to be there. And try. “Very well. It may get you killed.”
Rule took out his phone to make his own call…to Cullen. Who had a helicopter. Much faster than cars in San Francisco’s appalling traffic.
And Drummond’s last word had been hurry.
FORTY-TWO
SAN Francisco traffic sucked. Lily had never been so glad for a traffic jam in her life.
The gun-toting elf drove the CR-V. The other elf had stayed at the apartment to keep an eye on the sleeping Sean. Alycithin rode in the backseat so she could keep an eye on Lily, who was stashed in the back. They’d added a rope to her ankles to go with the restraints holding her arms behind her back. It wasn’t comfortable, but considering what waited for her, she thought she should at least try to enjoy the ride.
Mostly she thought about Rule. Had he been injured last night? Had any of the men been killed? Was Jasper okay? Several times she tried to reach Rule, but she could tell she wasn’t budging her dial. Whatever fuel mindspeech burned, hers was used up.
He would come. As soon as Alycithin left and took her damn Gift with her, the mate bond should start working properly again. He’d feel her, and he’d come, but it didn’t make sense to just charge in. Plans took time. So the question was: Did Friar want to take his time with her? Or would he gloat briefly, then make her quickly dead in some hideous ceremony?
He might skip the gloating and the ceremony and go straight to the killing. She didn’t think so. She didn’t think that would please the one he served.
Drummond was still gone. Of course, he couldn’t show up when she was in the car anyway, from what he’d said, so maybe he was here but unable to materialize. What did he think he could do? That “thing between the two of you,” he’d said. Was he talking about the mate bond? He’d never said anything before about being able to see or touch it.
What would happen to Drummond if she died in the next couple of hours? The thought startled her. Surely they wouldn’t still be bound. Even the mate bond didn’t endure past death. What would happen to him?
The CR-V speeded up as whatever traffic snarl had had them crawling loosened up.
“I have been thinking,” Alycithin said. “If Robert Friar does intend to use you to fuel death magic, he will not kill you while Benessarai is present. Nor will Benessarai allow him to abuse a hostage. However he feels about me, he has too much pride to so abandon his honor. Benessarai will be here at least another twenty-four hours. Our flight leaves at eight in the evening tomorrow…unless he has lied to me about that, too.” She laid a gently sarcastic stress on the word.
“Alycithin, I appreciate you wanting to make me feel better, but why would Benessarai be at this warehouse? Robert Friar won’t want him around when you’re exchanging the prototype for me. He won’t want Benessarai to know he isn’t getting the prototype.”